1973 Athens International Airport attack

The 1973 Athens International Airport attack occurred on 5 August 1973 when two Arab gunmen (Senhud Muhammad and Talat Hussan), belonging to the Black September Organization, staged an assault on passengers near the TWA lounge at the Athens International Airport in Athens, Greece. There were around 1,500 people in the transit hall when the gunmen threw grenades, sparking panic. The gunmen proceeded to open fire, killing 3 people and injuring 55. The gunmen took 35 passengers hostage and held them at gunpoint for two hours before surrendering to police; original reporting stated that one gunman was shot in the head by one of his own ricocheting bullets, while the other was killed when his hand grenade prematurely exploded. Muhammad and Hussan had targeted the TWA passengers as they were being checked before boarding a plane bound for Tel Aviv in Israel, and two of their victims (Elbert Kersing and Jeanne Salandri) were Americans, while most of the wounded were Greeks and Americans.